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Major League Cricket 2026: Star players, squads, schedule, live streaming & All you need to know

Major League Cricket 2026: Star players, squads, schedule, live streaming & All you need to know

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Catch all the important details you want to know about the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026.

The United States currently has all the attention of the sporting world. With the FIFA World Cup 2026 being hosted across North America, all eyes are posted there. Cricket is hoping to ride that wave too.

Major League Cricket (MLC) returns for its fourth season, bringing some of the biggest names in the sport across six franchises. The tournament has grown since its launch in 2023 and arrives at a crucial time, with cricket set to make its Olympic return at the Los Angeles Games in 2028 as well.

For Indian fans, there is an added reason to tune in. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be seen in competitive T20 action for the first time since retiring from international cricket. The veteran off-spinner has joined the San Francisco Unicorns and is one of the headline attractions of the season.

What is Major League Cricket (MLC)?

Major League Cricket is the premier franchise T20 competition in the United States. Organised by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket, the league was officially launched in 2023.

MI New York are currently the most successful team in the competition, having won two titles (2023 and 2025), while Washington Freedom lifted the trophy in 2024.

When does MLC 2026 start?

The fourth season of Major League Cricket will run from June 18 to July 18 (June 19 to July 19 in India). A total of 34 matches will be played, including:

  • 30 league-stage matches
  • Qualifier 1
  • Eliminator
  • Challenger
  • Final

MLC 2026 Teams

The tournament will once again feature six franchises:

  • Los Angeles Knight Riders
  • MI New York
  • San Francisco Unicorns
  • Seattle Orcas
  • Texas Super Kings
  • Washington Freedom

MI New York enter the season as defending champions after beating Washington Freedom in the 2025 final.

MLC 2026 Venues

Three venues will host matches this season:

  • Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
  • Oakland Coliseum, California
  • Knight Riders Cricket Field, California

The Knight Riders Cricket Field is the newest addition and replaces Broward County Stadium in Florida.

The playoffs and final will be played at Oakland Coliseum.

IPL connection in MLC

Several MLC franchises share ownership links with IPL teams.

  • Los Angeles Knight Riders – Kolkata Knight Riders
  • MI New York – Mumbai Indians
  • Texas Super Kings – Chennai Super Kings
  • Seattle Orcas – GMR Group (Delhi Capitals co-owners)

MLC 2026 Format

The six teams will compete in a round-robin format across 30 league matches.

The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs.

  • Qualifier 1: 1st vs 2nd
  • Eliminator: 3rd vs 4th
  • Challenger: Loser of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Eliminator
  • Final: Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Challenger

The MLC 2026 final will be played on July 18.

MLC 2026 Live Streaming and Telecast Details

Fans can watch the tournament live across multiple regions:

RegionLive Streaming / Broadcast
IndiaJioHotstar
USA & CanadaWillow Sports
AustraliaSeven Network

MLC 2026 Squads

Los Angeles Knight Riders Squad

Alex Hales, Nitish Kumar, Colin Munro, Saif Badar, Karthik Gattepalli, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Matthew Tromp, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Unmukt Chand, Andre Fletcher, Jahmar Hamilton, Ali Khan, Carmi le Roux, Lloyd Pope and Kristopher Ramsaran.

MI New York Squad

Agni Chopra, Faisal Khan Ahmadzai, Corey Anderson, Kunwarjeet Singh, Kieron Pollard, Sunny Patel, Corbin Bosch, Romario Shepherd, Tajinder Dhillon, Quinton de Kock, Monank Patel, Nicholas Pooran, Ryan Rickelton, Trent Boult, AM Ghazanfar, Nosthush Kenjige, Tristan Luus and Rushil Ugarkar.

San Francisco Unicorns Squad

Finn Allen, Hammad Azam, Matthew Short (Captain), Aakarshit Gomel, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Anirudh Immanuel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Juanoy Drysdale, Hassan Khan, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Oliver Peake, Saideep Ganesh, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Xavier Bartlett, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ilyas and Zia-ul-Haq.

Seattle Orcas Squad

Shimron Hetmyer, Sharad Lumba, Tim Robinson, Shayan Jahangir, Sujit Nayak, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Marcus Stoinis, Harmeet Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Tim Seifert, Rahul Jariwala, Ali Sheikh, Ottneil Baartman, Ayan Desai, Cameron Gannon, Jasdeep Singh, Lungi Ngidi and Tanveer Sangha.

Texas Super Kings Squad

Faf du Plessis (Captain), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Rilee Rossouw, Abhimanyu Lamba, Milind Kumar, Shubham Ranjane, Calvin Savage, Joshua Tromp, Mohammad Mohsin, Wiaan Mulder, Smit Patel, Donovan Ferreira, Amshi de Silva, Nandre Burger, Akeal Hosein, Keshav Maharaj, Adam Milne and Hardus Viljoen.

Washington Freedom Squad

Steven Smith (Captain), Mukhtar Ahmed, Mark Chapman, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Rachin Ravindra, Nikhil Chaudhary, Jack Edwards, Ian Holland, Marco Jansen, Obus Pienaar, Abhishek Paradkar, Andries Gous, Lahiru Milantha, Amila Aponso, Asif Mehmood, Ben Dwarshuis, Lockie Ferguson, Saurabh Netravalkar and Yasir Mohammad.

Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 Schedule

MatchDateFixtureVenue
1Jun 18Texas Super Kings vs Seattle OrcasGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
2Jun 19Los Angeles Knight Riders vs San Francisco UnicornsGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
3Jun 19Seattle Orcas vs Washington FreedomGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
4Jun 20Texas Super Kings vs San Francisco UnicornsGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
5Jun 20Washington Freedom vs MI New YorkGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
6Jun 21Seattle Orcas vs Los Angeles Knight RidersGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
7Jun 21Texas Super Kings vs MI New YorkGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
8Jun 24San Francisco Unicorns vs Texas Super KingsOakland Coliseum, California
9Jun 25Washington Freedom vs Seattle OrcasOakland Coliseum, California
10Jun 26MI New York vs Texas Super KingsOakland Coliseum, California
11Jun 26San Francisco Unicorns vs Seattle OrcasOakland Coliseum, California
12Jun 27MI New York vs Los Angeles Knight RidersOakland Coliseum, California
13Jun 27Washington Freedom vs Texas Super KingsOakland Coliseum, California
14Jun 28Los Angeles Knight Riders vs Seattle OrcasOakland Coliseum, California
15Jun 28San Francisco Unicorns vs Washington FreedomOakland Coliseum, California
16Jul 1Los Angeles Knight Riders vs Washington FreedomKnight Riders Cricket Field, Pomona
17Jul 2Seattle Orcas vs MI New YorkKnight Riders Cricket Field, Pomona
18Jul 3Los Angeles Knight Riders vs Texas Super KingsKnight Riders Cricket Field, Pomona
19Jul 4Washington Freedom vs San Francisco UnicornsKnight Riders Cricket Field, Pomona
20Jul 4Los Angeles Knight Riders vs MI New YorkKnight Riders Cricket Field, Pomona
21Jul 5Seattle Orcas vs Texas Super KingsKnight Riders Cricket Field, Pomona
22Jul 5San Francisco Unicorns vs MI New YorkKnight Riders Cricket Field, Pomona
23Jul 8MI New York vs San Francisco UnicornsGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
24Jul 9Washington Freedom vs Los Angeles Knight RidersGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
25Jul 10MI New York vs Seattle OrcasGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
26Jul 10San Francisco Unicorns vs Los Angeles Knight RidersGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
27Jul 11Texas Super Kings vs Washington FreedomGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
28Jul 11Seattle Orcas vs San Francisco UnicornsGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
29Jul 12MI New York vs Washington FreedomGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
30Jul 12Texas Super Kings vs Los Angeles Knight RidersGrand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
Q1Jul 15Qualifier 1 (1st vs 2nd)Oakland Coliseum, California
ELJul 15Eliminator (3rd vs 4th)Oakland Coliseum, California
CHJul 16Challenger (Loser Q1 vs Winner Eliminator)Oakland Coliseum, California
FinalJul 18FinalOakland Coliseum, California

Note: League stage matches will start at 2:00 AM IST (day game) and 6:00 AM IST (night game). All knockout games will start at 7:00 AM IST, barring Qualifier 1 (3:00 AM IST)

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